Salvation is not fragile!

I touched on this indirectly in my 5/16 Sunday sermon, but it was an aside to the message, so I wanted to write a bit more about it now.

The view of the “permanency” of salvation is all over the map within Christianity. Some teach “once saved, always saved”. Others teach that acts of sin can remove one from a “state of grace”. Others have a view somewhere in-between. Some of these beliefs are sincerely held, but I can’t help but wonder if some are held as a way to control conduct or enforce dependence on the church.

My take on it: Salvation is not just “forgiveness of sins”. If that’s all there was to salvation, then it stands to reason that sinning again might cause one to question their salvation.

But salvation is more than that:
- It’s receiving eternal life (John 3:16-17, John 17:3)
- It’s becoming a new creation (2 Cor 5:17-21)
- It’s becoming a part of the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12)
- It’s being adopted by the Father (Romans 8 )

Yes, sinning is a bad idea, as it affects us in the way we relate to the Father. That’s why we confess it (to God), put it under the blood of Christ, and move on (1 John 1:9-2:2). But salvation is not fragile, and God isn’t looking for ways to keep people out of heaven.

Doug